Hsuchow

Hsuchow (Xuzhou; 117.199E
34.251N) was a city of
central China
with a population of about 150,000 in 1938. The city had an airfield and was an important
rail
junction, where the north-south Tsinpu Railroad crossed the
east-west
Lunghai Railroad. The city has been described as "the northern
gateway to the Yangzi
valley" (MacKinnon 2008).

A major campaign was fought for the city from late
December 1937 to early June 1938. In February, 48 Army
attempted to drive 3 and 11 Divisions out of
Huaiyuan (117.204E
32.970N),
on
the Tsinpu line south of Hsuchow, but were unsuccessful. 11
Army was held at Tenghsian () Elements of
9 Division were halted
by 20
Army
Group at Linyi (118.355E
35.047N),
northeast of the city, in early March. The Japanese
struck again with heavy artillery
support on 23 March, driving the defenders out of Linyi but
failing to
rout them.

Battle of Taierhchuang. Earlier that month, the
Chinese had garrisoned the
walled city of Taierhchuang (117.787E
34.567N),
where a rail spur joining the Tsinpu and
Lunghai lines (bypassing Hsuchow) crossed the Grand Canal. Chinese troops
retreating from Linyi
regrouped here on 24 March, and 10 Division attacked
the next
day after a long artillery barrage. The Chinese defenders held,
supported for once by their own artillery. On 29 March the
Japanese
penetrated into the city but were soon entangled in vicious
close-quarter fighting that rendered their own artillery useless.
The
Chinese managed to isolate 10
Division, which was forced to break out, leaving behind
some
16,000 dead. Although
Chinese
casualties were at least as great, the battle of Taierhchuang was
recognized as one of the few clear Chinese victories of the war.
However, by 15 April, the Japanese had once again driven the
Chinese
out of Linyi. Bombing of Hsuchow, which had occurred sporadically
since August 1937, became heavier, and one Japanese air raid on 14 May 1938 killed 700
people.

The struggle for Hsuchow forced Japanese leaders to
privately acknowledge that the China "Incident" was a full-fledged
war
likely to last at least three more years.

Both sides regrouped until May, when 14 Division severed the
Lunghai
line west of Hsuchow. To avoid entrapment, most of 20 and 22
Army
Groups was ordered to retreat,
breaking into groups, moving by night and crossing the
railway in a heavy sandstorm.
Though at the end of their own logistics,
the Japanese entered
Hsuchow on 19 May
1938. The city remained in Japanese hands for the remainder of the
war.